September 08, 2010

New Senate TV ads tout Obama, independence

With Labor Day in the rearview mirror and the fall the campaign in full swing, both major party U.S. Senate candidate are launching TV campaign ads Thursday.

But unlike much of the acrid banter between Democrat Alexi Giannoulias and Republican Mark Kirk, neither ad strikes at the opposition.

Giannoulias, the state treasurer, touts his endorsement by President Barack Obama. Kirk, a five-term North Shore congressman, promotes himself as an independent.

Each campaign is spending about $400,000 to air the ads in the Chicago TV market, according to a source familiar with political ad buys who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The splurge marks the largest ad buys of the campaign so far. The amount is particularly significant for Giannoulias, whose last fundraising report showed he had about $1 million in the bank. Though he’s raised more money since then, Giannoulias had trailed Kirk in fundraising by a 4-to-1 margin.

Giannoulias’ ad draws from last month’s appearance with Obama when the president was in town campaigning for him. In a clip from a fundraising speech, Obama says of Giannoulias: “You can trust him. You can count on him.”

Other than Giannoulias’ required endorsement of the commercial, the entire ad is simply Obama praising his onetime basketball playing buddy. Giannoulias used a similar ad to great effect in his treasurer’s campaign four years ago.

Kirk’s commercial highlights endorsements the congressman has received in which he’s commended for being someone who doesn’t just vote the party line, though the ad does not mention Kirk is a Republican.

“In a country where too many just vote the party line,” the commercial states, “there are only a few thoughtful, independent leaders who do what’s right for us, like Mark Kirk.”

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

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Clout has a special meaning in Chicago, where it can be a noun, a verb or an adjective. This exercise of political influence in a uniquely Chicago style was chronicled in the Tribune cartoon "Clout Street" in the early 1980s. Clout Street, the blog, offers an inside look at the politics practiced from Chicago's City Hall to the Statehouse in Springfield, through the eyes of the Tribune's political and government reporters.